After that declaration that nobody understood except me, I turned serious and a little somber again. The coming days will not be easy for either Mei or me. My home was completely destroyed, and Mei's parents' shop and house need some serious repairs. Also, I technically broke the law numerous times. Even if Nezu allowed me to help with the use of my quirk, I don't know if he can help me with the death of the villains who died under the attacks from my units. Only the future will tell what will happen. I can only face it head-on.
I gave one last look at the fallen forms of Wilhelm and my mother, then turned away and signaled to the others to leave with me. When I arrived outside, now out of my tunnel vision, I noticed the almost total annihilation of my apartment complex and the surrounding buildings. I saw deep craters and trenches in the ground, cars blown away by intense winds, and the fallen bodies of many innocent bystanders all around the former battlefield. With a simple hand gesture, my new tattoos on my right side lit up, and my soldiers started forming out of me faster than ever. Using only half of my energy, I managed to create 21 units—20 normal Combat Engineers and one new Commander. I ordered them to carry the bodies of the civilians who were still in one piece.
As we headed back to meet up with Nezu, Mirko and Mei kept asking me about my new looks and the difference in my power. Mei, in particular, was still very concerned about what happened to me in the basement, but I managed to explain it to her once everyone involved had gathered. The platoon of soldiers walked in formation next to us, led by their Commander. With the bodies in their hands, they looked like they were holding a very tragic funeral march. Not long after, we arrived back at the base with the deceased and were greeted by the still-conscious staff of UA and the No. 3 pro hero: Hawks. I quickly ordered the Commander to take the soldiers and go to the medical tent with the deceased civilians. He saluted to me and, for some reason, bowed towards Mei before turning away and giving orders to the others.
Nezu approached me with clear worry: "Any luck finding them? Did they manage to evacuate in time?"
I just shook my head. "No, sir, they didn't make it. I couldn't move their bodies, or I would've collapsed the ceiling on us."
"I'm sorry for your loss. Know that for your help, we at UA will be forever grateful. Just ask, and we will try to help you."
I didn't think hard about it since this was the only logical move at the moment. "I only want two things if possible: First, because my house was destroyed and my legal guardian is no longer with us, I'd like to ask for your help with my living situation." Nezu nodded, agreeing without any problem. "The second thing is a bit weird. I found out something interesting about my power related to human blood, so I'd like to ask for blood from every teacher who agrees to it. It's nothing bad, and if you want, Hawks or Mirko can watch my experiment with all the staff as well."
He looked a bit troubled, but since I gave him enough wiggle room to maneuver, he agreed on the condition that I tell him in advance what I can do so no unexpected developments catch him off guard. So I leaned in and whispered in his ear to not ruin the surprise for the others: "I can partially store and replicate someone's quirk if I store some of their DNA and modify my soldiers with it. The quirks are about five times weaker than the original, but I still don't know the specifics since I've only ever tried it with my mom's and Mei's quirks." He looked at me with a mix of shock, worry, and excitement.
Mirko and Hound Dog also perked up and looked at me in shock—most likely, they heard me thanks to their quirks. I just made a shushing gesture with my finger, and they both understood what I meant. Mirko gave me a toothy grin and a thumbs-up, while Hound Dog just sighed but didn't say anything. Nezu clapped his paws and said, "Okay, both of those requests are doable, so please, everyone who is willing to give a small vial of blood for this test, put your hands up." Everyone agreed, even Thirteen and Recovery Girl, who had just arrived not too long ago. The two who couldn't agree were Vlad King and Ectoplasm, as they were both currently being treated at the local hospital due to their heavy injuries.
To my shock, Mirko also agreed to the idea. Hawks had already left when Nezu dismissed him; he didn't seem to trust or like Hawks very much. We went to the medical tent, where Recovery Girl quickly drew a small vial of blood from everyone, then with Nezu's help, even from herself. They presented me with the samples, so I quickly lifted my arm and willed the items into my vault. Then I started to concentrate, and as I entered, I rushed toward the Admin console. In the Quirk bank, new entries were present.
Quirk Bank available samples (2-times weaker than the original):
-Mei Hatsume: Zoom
-Ayame Adams: Calming Touch
-Nezu: High Specs *new*
-Thirteen: Black Hole *new*
-Shota Aizawa: Erasure *new*
-Present Mic: Voice *new*
-Snipe: Homing *new*
-Recovery Girl: Heal *new*
-Power Loader: Iron Claws *new*
-Cementoss: Cement *new*
-Lunch Rush: Chemistry *new*
-Midnight: Somnambulist *new*
-Hound Dog: Dog *new*
-Mirko: Rabbit *new*
I just smiled when there was a sudden pop-up: "Would you like to combine?"
I chose yes, and when I selected something, some of the quirks would shine red, while others either stayed normal or shone green in color.
I managed to make some cool combinations:
Combinations Bank (Combinations are not weakened):
-Calming Touch + Heal = Recovery: This power allows the user to heal or stabilize injured patients with a touch of their hand, at the cost of their own stamina.
-Erasure + Voice = Silence: This power allows the user to remove all sound from themselves and within a radius of 5 meters. Overuse results in a sore throat.
-Cement + Iron Claws = Terraforge: This power gives the user the ability to generate and manipulate reinforced cement from their hands. They can freely change the shape and solidity of the cement they generate. The more cement they make, the more stamina it takes.
-Dog + Rabbit = Were-Rabbit: This power permanently transforms the user into a humanoid rabbit hybrid. They gain superhuman senses and instincts, along with super strength primarily concentrated in their legs, allowing them to run at the speed of sound.
-Zoom + Homing = Deadeye: This power allows the user to lock on to the weak points of any object from a very long distance. The user's perception of time speeds up upon finding a target, enabling them to select multiple targets at once.
-Somnambulist + Chemistry = Toxic Synthesis: This power enables the user to generate any chemical in its gas state. However, the user must know how the specific chemical is made, and they are not immune to their own power.
When I was done, I closed the new tab and started making changes to my already existing templates. First, I made a few upgrades, like the Elite Utility Commander Unit, by giving them High Specs as a quirk. Then I created an Elite Infiltrator Unit, by giving them Silence.
When I was done, I began making new variants of Units. My first idea was the Elite Utility Administrator Unit, also given High Specs. Then, I created the Elite Utility Medic Unit, given Recovery as a power.
Next, I made the Elite Combat Toxin Unit with the power of Toxic Synthesis. After that, I created the Elite Combat Gunslinger Unit with the power of Deadeye. I also made the Elite Combat RabBeast Unit with the power of Were-Rabbit. And lastly, I made the Elite Utility Builder Unit with the power of Terraforge.
When I opened my eyes, I saw everyone looking at me with quizzical expressions. When they noticed my questioning looks, they simply explained that my halo had appeared and was spinning erratically from time to time. I guess this was caused by the changes and upgrades I had made.
I began explaining everything to the heroes present: "As I told Nezu, my quirk has the capability to copy other people's abilities if I get any of their DNA. I can then use these abilities to modify my puppets. I haven't had much time to test it yet because I've only copied two quirks so far—my mom's and my girlfriend's. Now that I've matured a lot more in my quirk, its power has increased, and the penalty has decreased significantly. I can now give quirks that are only 2 times weaker than the originals instead of 5."
Nezu voiced what everyone was thinking: "How did you mature so fast in just one day?"
I shrugged. "This only happened a little after we found Wilhelm and Mom, so I'm not entirely sure. Now, onto some big news that I literally just discovered." Everyone focused their full attention on me again, and no one seemed to catch my lie.
"I found out that I can combine certain types of quirks depending on their compatibility." I then started summoning the new combination units.
First, I brought out the Gunslingers, followed by the Toxin Unit, the Administrators, the Elite Infiltrators and Elite Commander, the Medics, the Builders, and lastly the RabBeasts. Mirko immediately perked up at the sight of the two rabbit people. I explained how they were created and what they could do. After that, I was finally free and walked with Mei to search for a place to sleep for the night. I was ready to end this day and finally get some rest. When we arrived in front of a small camping tent that was empty, we decided to take it for ourselves. As the sun finally went behind the horizon, we huddled together in its warm embrace and fell asleep.